A successful experiment!

Way back in May (feels like yesterday) my elder son and I embarked on an adventure. An organic experiment of sorts.

We decided to attempt to grow sweet corn in our very own backyard.

This little guy painstakingly poured the dirt into the planting trays and and carefully nestled each seed in its own compartment. (Must have taken a lot of concentration for this 3 year old)

He proudly finished the project, and spent the next month eagerly watering the seeds each day.

When the ground was warm enough (early June), I carefully transferred the seedlings (each about a foot high) out to the garden. I used weed fabric, which I laid out on the ground and then cut an 'x' in rows of 4x4. The weed fabric turned out to be a great idea as I only had to weed the bed once all summer!!

So now fast foward to last week, when William and I got to reap the rewards of a summer of patience.

Early one morning, we trekked out to the yard, green grass still wet with dew, and surveyed for ears among the stalks.

I'm happy to say that the naysayers, who warned us that the raccoons would raid and destroy the corn before we got to it, were wrong. We harvested about eleven ears in all.

(Lest you think that face reflects his excitement about the armful of corn, let me let you in behind the scenes. I actually cheated and posed this question to him right before snapping the shutter release: "Now tell me, who do you think would win in a fight, Superman or the Flash?" Works like a charm, every time.)

And in case you wondered, a 3 year old is not great at pretending to eat corn on the cob. 

Well, I guess pictures of people eating are rarely flattering...

At any rate, the corn was amazingly delicious and worth the months of patience.

It was a successful gardening experiment, one which we will surely repeat in the future.

And for next summer, we're on to potatoes! (If I don't chicken or lazy out)